Drabbles of Those Before the Ring
by Selene Illusinia
Summary: A series of short, humerus stories dealing mainly with a set of characters who exist long before the ring. Will have some post-Return of the King stories. Read first chapter for character descriptions.
1. Letter of Explination and Descriptions

Ok, sense I'm keeping these short, descriptions of the characters are here. You don't have to read these if you don't want to. All but Durin are new characters I made up. Their stories take place near the beginning of the world.

**Thalenguard** (Thal-en-guard)- eldest of the six; tallest of the six (approx. 6') with long limbs; elven in appearance, that is to say that he has pointed ears though his have a longer point than modern elves; blond hair; harshly slanted, deep blue eyes; pale skin; very graceful looking; wields a bow mostly

**Durin**- second eldest, born one year after Thalenguard; second shortest of the six, just a little taller than a modern dwarf (approx. 3' 5"); some stout bulk, but not completely so; grows a long beard and hair, both reddish brown; ears are pointed to a degree, though not as long as Thal's; wields a battle ax and often wears heavy chain armor;

**Eregon** (pronounced Ere-gun)- third eldest son of the family; same height as a modern human male (approx. 5'9"); slight point of ears, closer to the modern Elves ears; human bone structure (face); looks like modern human in terms of body build; black-brown hair and brown eyes; slightly tanned skin; wields a long sword and light leather armor

**Baljin** (Bal-gin)- fourth eldest of the sons in the family; shortest of the brothers (approx. 3'); hobbit like in some ways, though thinner than modern hobbits; somewhat taller than modern hobbits, equal in height to Durin; normal body proportions; slightly curly hair, dark reddish brown in color; bright blue eyes; loves to fish; wields a small dagger which he is very fast with

**Saruine**- youngest brother, twin to Arianala; magic user; ears are very long and slope backwards towards back of skull, with tips nearly reaching the back and pointed; long hair, black in color; sharply slanted eyes like Thalinguard, deep green color; somewhat tan like Eregon; human facial build; elven body; between Durin and Eregon on height (approx. 5'7"); poor skills with bow or blade, skilled with stave; often carries a book and pen with him

**Arianala**- youngest sibling, only daughter, twin to Saruine; bound to natural world, magic user; ears are very long and slope backwards towards back of skull, with tips nearly reaching the back and pointed; hair long and seems to hold every shade of brown found in nature; eyes softly slanted, blue-green which seems to contain every shade of blue and green found in nature, with the shades often shifting with her moods; human facial build; elven body; height between Durin and Eregon, but shorter than Saruine (approx. 5'4" - 5'5"); excellent skill with blade and bow; extremely talented woodsman

Alright, there are the explanation of the characters. These explanations may be updated later. Thank you for taking the time to read this short letter and enjoy the stories.


	2. Thalenguard and the Trolls

**Thalenguard and the Trolls **

**OR **

**Eregon's Prank that Resulted in Thalenguard's Fear of Trolls**

Arianala crept along the forest floor, her feet leaving no marks on the soft ground. Her eyes darted around her rapidly as she watched for any sign of pursuit. _'Where are you? I know you are near by. The forest is aflutter with your voice...'_

Suddenly, from behind, a loud cry could be heard. Though the sound could have easily been mistaken for the scream of a woman, Arianala knew better. Cutting back across her path, she darted forward though the forest, only stopping when she found herself on the edge of a rock face. And what she saw nearly sent her tumbling over the side.

Down below, Thalenguard was darting around a clearing within a ring of rocks with three different female trolls chasing him in circles. Each of them tried to grab at him as he ran past, and one of them even dove after him a few times before he finally managed to jump back out through the break in the ring and run off into the forest, all three trolls right on his tail.

As her brothers frantic shouts of distress died down, she caught the sound of laughing floating up from below. Specifically she caught the sound of two laughs she knew all too well. Dropping back into the shadows, she crept along the top of the cliff face until it dropped low enough to a rock she could jump down from there to the top of the stone ring.

Reaching the far side of the ring from where she had been, she found Eregon and Baljin nearly rolling on the ground in laughter. Eyes narrowed, she jumped silently from the stone she was perched on and crept behind her two laughing brothers. As their voices finally quieted down, she took the moment to slip up behind them and straightened up.

"What did you two do to Thal this time?" her voice was stern, and she had to work hard to not laugh as both of her brothers jumped into the air and turned towards her, smacking into each other in the process and landing on the ground hard. The sight before her nearly caused her to fall over in a fit of laughter. Both of her bothers sat on the ground, their skin a green so bright she thought she might go blind and their hair an equally bright pink. Covering her mouth with her hand, she cleared her throat in an attempt to stifle her laughter but found it futile. She finally burst after a few seconds, having to lean against the rock to keep herself upright.

Behind her, another figure broke free from the trees. Saruine stood at the edge of the underbrush he had just crashed though, his staff at the ready. Leaves stuck out of his hair and his face was splattered with mud from his mad dash through the woods to his sisters side. Spotting his hysterical sister, he hurried to her side and attempted to determine the source of her near-hysterical laughter as he leaned her more against the rocks.

"Ari, what's wrong?" asked Saruine in concern. Instead of responding, however, Arianala could only point at the two figures kneeling on the ground. Turing to face his brothers, Saruine froze for a moment simply staring at the two disgruntled figures. Then, his lips began to twitch and he too fell into a fit of laughter.

It took several minutes for the twins to finally stop laughing enough to begin moving off into the woods to search for their brother, though it wasn't hard as all they had to do was follow the screams.

In the end, however, it took them nearly a week to find their brother, who had managed to climb up a tall tree to hide from the female trolls. When they pulled him down he smelled horrible and looked to have been drenched in something yellow and sticky. Arianala just shook her head, knowing what happened, and started leading her poor brother to a near by lake. Saruine figured it out as well and saved Thalenguard from having to answer when Durin, who they had found hiding in a cave from a group of giant eagles who had gone after him with a fervor similar to the trolls, began asking questions which seemed to only make Thalenguards face take on a pale and horrified expression.

"Its Troll pee," supplied Saruine sympathetically as he lead his still shaken brother towards the river. He knew all too well how horrible being chased by a troll could be, having had it happen to him many times while collecting supplies. "They marked their territory."

Eregon and Baljin woke up a few days after they had found Thalengard smelling of something foul with a flock of female ducks sitting outside their windows. After that, none of the four boys ever dared to steal any kind of animal pheromone from Arianala and Saruine's workshop again.


	3. The Courtyard Incident

**The Courtyard Incident**

**or**

**Why One Should Never Act Inappropriately Towards Ari**

Thalenguard, Eregon, Durin, Saruine, and Baljin stood quietly in the open-arched hallway, watching the action in the court yard below. All were silent for a moment, unsure what to do about what they were observing.

"Should we interfere?" questioned Baljin uncertainly.

Eregon smirked and shook his head. "No, I think Ari has this situation under control."

"You know we are going to be in trouble for not intervening, correct?" pointed out Thalenguard, though he sounded unconcerned about it.

Durin grinned. "Ay, but it's certainly worth it."

Saruine smirked. "Besides, who says none of us was involved in the first place."

The other four glanced at their brother but decided questioning him was a bad idea. The smirk on his face was the most sadistic look they had seen him display. Not that none of them were proud their brother had mastered the look they had worked so hard to teach him.

Thalenguard shook his head and looked back at the court yard. "You know, I didn't know it was possible to do that with a tongue."

Eregon's eyes got wide. "Why on earth is she licking him?"

"Pheromones," replied Saruine with a grin. "He really shouldn't have left his drink sitting unattended on a table."

Durin shook his head. "Remind me never to piss either of you off. Ever."

"Didn't you say that once before?" asked Thalenguard casually.

As Durin was considering the validity of his brother's comment, and realizing that he had indeed said those words far too many times before, the boy's mother and father stepped casually onto the open hall.

"Boys, have any of you seen..." their father's voice trailed off as he follows the boy's eyes to what was occurring in the courtyard.

Their mother did the same thing and gasped in shock. "What is your sister doing to Akarska's son?"

Before any of the boys could answer, their father spoke up. "Why does a drake have him pinned to a tree? And why is it licking him?"

"She," corrected Saruine casually.

Durin chuckled. "The lad got hands-y with Ari. She decided to teach him a lesson."

Their father raised his eyebrow. "And you boys are not interfering because..."

Eregon snorted. "The cretin grabbed her behind. And then attempted to touch her chest. He deserves anything he gets."

A look of understanding passed over both parent's face. Their father turned to their mother with a contemplative look. "What do you say we go back inside for another ten minutes, and forget we saw this."

Their mother smirked. "Make it twenty. I want to make sure that boy really learns his lesson."

With that, both parents glided back inside the clan home, leaving their daughter to teach the lecherous young man a lesson with her drake friend. The boys just grinned at each other and turned back to watching the activities below. Yes, their sister was definitely doing a better job of frightening him than any of them could have. Of course, they would still give the boy a "talking to" later on, just to make sure he NEVER pulled a stunt like tonight again.


	4. Baljin's Fish

**Baljin's Fishing Tale**

**or**

**The Time Baljin was caught by a Fish**

Baljin hummed softly as he wondered through the bright forest around his home. Birds hummed over head, small animal scurrying across the forest floor. Fishing pole in hand, slung over his shoulder. All in all, the day seemed lovely.

Ahead, a shadow suddenly moved, darting from behind one tree to another. Baljin stopped for a moment, watching as the shadow tried to huddle down into a corner and stay out of sight. It took a moment for him to recognize the figure.

With a wicked grin, Baljin began to creep forwards, keeping his steps silent and his body in shadow. It only took him a minute to reach the cowering form. Holding his breath, he leaned around the tree and whispered in the figure's ear. "Boo."

Eregon jumped from his hiding spot, sword drawn. It would have been a very heroic and impressive pose, if his hand's hadn't been shaking and he hadn't slipped in mud and fallen on his ass a second after he jumped up.

Baljin, of course, fell into a fit of laughter. Literally. He was barely standing by leaning against a tree root as his normally brave brother shake mud from places best left to the imagination. The sound of Baljin's laughter seemed to strike a cord in Eregon, however, as he raced to cover his brother's mouth.

"Shhh!" he hissed. "She'll hear you!"

Coughing once, Baljin managed to quell most of his laughter, though a few chuckles still escaped now and again. "I see. So what did you do to your lovely bay sister this time?"

A sheepish look spread over Eregon's features and he muttered something incomprehensible beneath his breath.

"What was that?" asked Baljin with a grin, knowing if Eregon was unwilling to say it clearly the first time that he was indeed in big trouble.

Eregon sighed irritably. "I said, I accidentally let it slip in front of Aunt Marthenia that Darsk was pursuing Ari romantically."

Those word's nearly sent Baljin into another fit of laughter with only the understanding of his brother's position stopping him. An angry Ari was bad, but she was bound to be furious over this. Of course, nothing she did would cause Eregon permanent harm, apart from some mental scarring, but it was guaranteed that Eregon would suffer for this unintentional treachery.

Shaking his head, Baljin picked up his pole from where it had fallen and gave his brother a sympathetic smile. "Good luck Ere. Hopefully she won't slaughter you."

Eregon just groaned and turned to go look for a new hiding space now that his was compromised. However, Baljin's voice made him pause.

"By the way, " called Baljin, "do you know any good fishing spots around here? I'm looking for a new one."

Eregon paused then pointed down hill. "There is an alcove along the north edge of the lake where I often see fish swimming. You should try there."

"Thanks," replied Baljin. "There is a cavern I passed on my way down hill that looked abandoned if you want to hide there."

Eregon shuddered, remembering the bear and drake he'd found the last time he'd tried to hide in a cave. What the two creatures had been doing he still wasn't sure, though Ari swore they were simply having a friendly chat over a carcass. Somehow, that seemed worse than the other possibilities to him.

"No thanks," muttered the fearful Eregon as he slunk out of sight. Baljin just shrugged and went on his way.

Whistling casually, Baljin soon found the alcove his brother had spoken of and was overjoyed at the sight which greeted him. Fish leapt about freely and plentifully. Many kinds swam though the deep water and of many sizes.

Grinning like a dwarf who just found a vault of pure mithral, Baljin happily sat down and pulled out his line and tackle, settling in for an afternoon of fishing.

Nearly half an hour passed and Baljin just sat there, happily catching fish, only the biggest of which he kept. Everything else he threw back, knowing that otherwise he would get a nasty lecture from Ari when he returned home. Hell, he was already likely to be on the receiving end of one, but he was enjoying himself too much to care. His attention was so focused on his catch, the Baljin failed to notice the large shadow lumbering its way though the dark blue depths.

A tug on Baljin's line caused a grin to break across his face again and he began happily pulling up his catch. The line, however, would not budge. He tugged again, and again, the line did not move. Thinking he'd caught the hook on something under the water, he gave one more firm tug and found himself plummeting into the blue depths with a loud splash.

It took him a moment to orient himself under the water, his eyes adjusting to the diffused light. Rocks, logs, and other various shapes began to appear on the bottom of the lake, showing Baljin the mysterious depths where the creatures he so loved to eat spawned from. A cold current suddenly struck him from behind and he spun around...only to come face to scaled face with the largest fish he had ever seen. The creature had to be nearly four times his size and, while he was exceedingly small, this was still a rather frightening prospect. Its long body was more eel like than fishy and its side fins were strangely shaped and long. Greenish-blue scales sparkled in the dim light which broke though the surface from above.

The creature just grinned with a mouth filled with pointed teeth and held out his fishing line in what Baljin realized was a scaly claw. "Is this yours?"

Baljin gulped but nodded, fearing in that moment that he was going to be consumed by one of the creatures he so often caught.

"Wonderful!" exclaimed the fish in front of him, which caused Baljin to bulk a little. "I've seen you up above all day and my brethren, the ones who you have thrown back, have been ranting and raving about the bait you use, claiming it is positively the most amazing thing they have ever tasted. Of course, not wanting to be left out, I decided to try some as well and find that they are very much correct, you do have the best bait that any fisherman who comes this way has ever used. I simply must know what it is made from!"

A look of shock, then clear confusion crossed Baljin's face at the fish's words. At that moment, however, the need for oxygen struck Baljin rather uncomfortably and he motioned to his mouth and then the surface. The creature blinked for a moment but nodded none the less.

"Oh right, you're a surface creature. I forgot you can't breath down here. Of course, go to the surface and get a breath. I'll be right behind you."

Nothing thinking about the second part of the creatures statement, Baljin quickly kicked to the surface and broke free of the water, taking in a gasping breath. Beside him, the creature who had pulled him in surfaced as well and gave him another toothy grin.

"Better?" it asked as it reclined backwards in the water. Baljin nodded faintly. "Good, now you really MUST tell me what you use for bait. It is positively delicious and I would really like to use it when consuming my own fish!"

"Uh, sure," replied Baljin, still a little perturbed by the whole situation. "Well, I use..."

Baljin spent most of the rest of the day being questioned by the creature he had met, which Ari later identified as an eel creature, a colony of whom inhabited the deepest part of the lake. He also learned they loved to cook and tended to talk incessantly about the best ways to cook fish. Needless to say, Baljin decided he wasn't likely to return to that same fishing spot any time soon.

As for Eregon, Ari caught up with him not long after he parted from Baljin and was properly punished. He spent the rest of the week as a woman, punishment from his sister for opening his big mouth. That same week, Darsk lost interest in Ari and began to pursue another beautiful woman he caught sight of. Though the woman mysteriously vanished not long after. That, however, is another story.


	5. Earthquake in Evendim

**Earthquake in Evendim**

**or**

**Ari and Sar Learn About Metallurgy**

A violent jolt ran though the ground, nearly taking Eregon off his feet. Thalenguard fell from the tree he was lounging in casually, landing on his face. Baljin just calmly looked up towards the lake where a large plume of smoke was rising towards the sky.

"I wonder what they did this time," considered Baljin casually.

Eregon picked himself up and snorted slightly. "You'd think Durin would have learned by now."

"Just because they can work with herbs and magic, doesn't mean they can work with molten metal and chemicals," agreed Thalenguard.

Durin blinked at the back wall of his workshop. Rather, the place where the back wall of his workshop had been. Now, the wall and adjoining five feet of roof were ashes currently being whipped away by the wind and into the lake below his work shop. Well, this positioning was strategic in case he lit his clothing on fire, again, he was currently thinking that building on a low cliff wasn't the best idea. Especially given the ground looked ready to give way at the slightest provocation. _I guess I have a new window_. _Damnit though, my favorite bear head HAD to be on that wall._

Sighing, he turned to look at the two sources of the explosion that had a moment ago rocked the very ground they stood on. Ari looked surprised, a look he didn't see on her face very often. Her hand was still raised to drop the chunk of what SHOULD have been a metal reinforcing agent into the now shattered metal caldron he used to melt his materials. Soot covered her face and body, making her eyes appear brighter. Beside her, Saruine looked equally surprised, his own eyes blinking rapidly in apparent confusion. His clothing was equally soot covered, though his clothing was torn in places. Together, the two looked like a pair of stunned deer.

_Kinda like when Eregon ran into the ballroom that one time being chased by a woman waving his pants around._

Shaking his head, Durin threw the pieces of the once-present caldron into a pile of scrap metal in the corner before gently grasping both of his siblings shoulders and leading them to the lake. Two splashes were heard a few seconds later and both twins surfaced, coughing up water and sputtering.

"Durin!" shouted Ari, annoyance dripping from her voice. "What the hell was that about?"

Durin just grinned down at them. "Sorry, I was figurin' it was the most efficient way of wakin' you two up from your dazed dreamin'."

Ari just glared at him as Saruine finally managed to clear the water from his lungs enough that he could speak. "And you had no other options to try first?"

Durin shrugged. "When somethin' has happened ten times before, you figure by the eleventh that going straight to the workin' solution is the best course of action."


End file.
